Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation image processing apparatus and a control method for the same.
Description of the Related Art
There has been a growing trend to implement more efficient and faster examination by saving and transmitting medical image information of patients generated in hospitals upon digitizing the information. For this reason, in the field of radiographic imaging as well, a radiographic imaging system has been increasingly used, which uses a radiation detector such as an FPD (Flat Panel Detector) in place of a conventional screen/film system and outputs digital data.
In a radiographic imaging system like that described above, the size of an obtained image depends on the size of a radiation detector such an FPD used for imaging, and hence an unnecessary area for diagnosis is sometimes generated in an obtained image. For this reason, it is a general practice for a user such as a doctor or technician to extract a necessary area for diagnosis for every imaging operation and send the extracted area to a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) or the like. It is also a practice to print, on films, the images sent to the PACS and perform quality assurance for images on a display.
For the purpose of supporting extraction of an area from an obtained image, there has been proposed a system which detects a necessary area (region of interest) for diagnosis and decides an extraction area based on the resultant information. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-261541 (to be referred to as patent literature 1 hereinafter) discloses a radiographic imaging system which detects a region of interest from an obtained image and sets, as an extraction area, a surrounding area extending from the detected region of interest by an amount corresponding to a predetermined number of pixels.
The radiographic imaging system disclosed in patent literature 1, however, decides an extraction area with reference to a detected region of interest, and hence an extraction area changes in size depending on the size of a detected region of interest even if the same region is imaged. For example, even if the same region of the same patient is imaged, different extraction regions are obtained from different detected regions of interest, and images extracted in different sizes are sent to a PACS. In general, commercially available films have predetermined sizes such as 14×17 inches, 14×14 inches, and 10×12 inches. It is preferable to print images obtained by imaging the same region of the same patient on films of the same size. According to the radiographic imaging system disclosed in patent literature 1, however, images sent to a PACS may be printed on films of different sizes.